Ariel's End Part 2
by Jordan Lee Burnes
Summary: The saga continues.
1. Chapter 1

Jordan looked up from his work and out into the ocean. It made him remember as many others didn't. Once he had gotten back to the shore from his venture he couldn't stand to leave the sight of the ocean, he had to stay, to be close to it, to be close to her. It was the only thing he had left. In the first two months of life he had almost died from starvation if he had not found a job here on a commercial dock.

"Come on boy, get your ass moving and load this stuff up."

"Yes sir."

Jordan picked up the crate he had been staring over and loaded it onto the small rowboat that would take it to a schooner not to far off the coast. He did this with five other large boxes and one barrel, getting into the rowboat and starting off to the ship to drop of the equipment.

He listened as the oars made slow noises against the water, giving just the right mood as the sun went down behind the horizon. By the time he had gotten there it was dark with just a little sunlight peeking over the horizon. He threw the ropes to the crew on board and climbed atop the schooner once they had heaved him upward. He took the boxes and barrels and put them were the crew had told him to. Then, on the sixth box he stopped and lifted up his face as a refreshing gust of wind blew by; magnificent. The felling, though, was short lived as he heard a very high pitched whistle coming from a ways out behind him. He turned to look and saw a large schooner flying a pirate flag and heading fast to them.

The crew rushed into action and raised the anchors as they attempted to get the sails up. The pirate ship was to fast, and it came hard and knocked out one of the sails with the first cannon fire, there isn't even a need to describe what the rest of cannons did. Soon the pirates had hooked onto the merchant vessel with many javelins and had made their way over.

For those who fought with what weapons they had, their life was short lived, but luckily most just stood there with their hands up, Jordan including. Once the pirates had looted the ship from whatever valuables they lined the crew and Jordan up as the captain of the pirate ship came over. He paced in front of these men and looked to them pointing at three of them, Jordan being one of them.

"Tie these three up and bring em aboard. Kill the rest"

Screams filled the air and people tried to struggle but they were all slaughtered one after another, Jordan and two other crewmen the only ones left. After many evil and hearty laughs followed by spits and other guttural sounds you wouldn't be able to make out, Jordan and the two crewmen were taken aboard _The Mermaids Tail, _which was the name of the ship. This name made Jordan smile as he thought back to the time he and Ariel had been together. This got him slapped across the face by the hardy looking captain.

"What's so funny lad!"

Jordan said nothing, just hung his head to the floor.

"Good, now the rest of you. You have two options, one, you can stay aboard my ship with me crew doing whatever we say when we say and one day when I see ya worthy I will let you go of your servitude, to join with us that is. Or, the latter decision would be to die right here, right now. It's your choice mate's."

Nobody had trouble with their decision, not a one. As they were taken to their feet, Jordan expected to be hauled into a kitchen or something to clean, but instead they were thrown in the cargo hold for the night, blindfolded and gagged. It was cramped and very silent, the only thing giving Jordan comfort the sound of the Ocean waves pounding against the ships hull, always the sound of the Ocean. The other two crewmen were not so lucky; they sat through a night of pain and misery.


	2. Chapter 2

Ariel was swimming… as she had every day, even after her heart had been tugged. She was gliding along the bottom looking upon the stones as they sparkled back at her. She was swimming fast, making the rocks appear as nothing but a blur, but she soon saw a flash of green and stopped to backtrack. What she found was iridescent to the ocean, something so ordinary that one did not care to stop and look, a piece of seaweed. This brought back strong memories of days past, and it brought tears as she reached down to pluck the weed from its resting place and drape it across her chest… strong memories indeed.

After the moments mourning she looked to the stones and they no longer sparkled. Ariel swam to the surface and looked into the sky. It was cloudy, and a storm was coming…a strong one.

It started to rain and Ariel kept her head to the heavens as the water fell atop her. Every day since that eventful night in her memory she had come to the surface to stare at the sky, rain or shine. It was one thing that reminded her of Jordan, her only love, and no matter how hard she had tried, she never forgot him, not that she wanted to. But it was just another memory, and she didn't want it that way.

The thunder finally started in, but this only made Ariel smile, so many things on the surface made her remember, and she reveled in them all. As the thunder started so did the wind, and with the wind came waves, waves that tossed Ariel easily in the air and back into the water. She stayed and let the waves take her; it had been a mistake.

Once she finally got control of herself she looked around her, and directly to the left of her was a large ship. She stared up toward the deck and saw a face, a beautiful face, the only face she needed to see, but there was wind, and there was waves; waves that threw her away out of sight of that beautiful face.

When she had finally gained control of herself she dove back under the water and found a flat space of rocks to sit on. Once she sat she thought to herself of that beautiful face, it was Jordan's she could feel it, but at the same time it wasn't. She had many times seen his exact face in the fish and merfolk she encountered everyday, and if she could imagine his face in them, it would be all too easy to do with a human.

She began to sleep then, right there so that she could dream; dream of him, and the storm, and the seaweed, and of him.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been three months since Jordan had been kidnapped by pirates. Now he was one of them. The other two men he had been with didn't make it; they broke down way to soon. The life he lived now was exciting, he admitted, but it was a lonely life; something he had never wished for. At the moment he was standing at the bow when a storm began to brew. He saw the early signs of it and shouted to his captain that stood by the mast.

"Storm, hard from the north. It's a bad one too captain."

The hardened captain pushed past Jordan and started out into the sky, laughing fool heartedly once he had sized up the danger.

"Well me boys look like we got a storm coming. Pull the sails to full wind, were not running from this one."

The crew, including Jordan did as the captain sails. He ran to the sails and pulled them even further out giving way to much more wind, which meant more speed. Then the waves started to pick up and the ship was bouncing across the Ocean. There was not much to do now but to wait for another order and hold on. The waves were getting bad, covering the whole deck in a wave and soaking everyone, but thankfully not taking the ship back into the sea with it.

Jordan stood on the starboard side and held on to a rail with all his might. For mere minutes he thought he was going to surely die. He had never been in a storm this bad, well there was one, but the circumstances were different, much different. Finally what took only a second, the ship calmed and Jordan chanced a look into the water. He saw a face staring back at him, not his own, but one that was forever imprinted in his mind; a face with beautiful red hair and blue eyes.

Jordan shut his eyes and held them tight. He saw many things at once then, the whole story of him and Ariel passing right in front of him, until he opened his gateway. Then he stared back into the Ocean and saw a face, this one was his own.

He gripped the rail, knuckles white, as pain flared through his body, he wanted to cry, but he had no tears…only anguish. As he looked down into the water he thought to himself _Maybe it wasn't just my imagination, if I jump in and swim I could find her, and we could be happy again, and I could love her forever… and ever._ The ridiculous thought however passed as a yell came from behind.

"Lets get below boys or this storm'll take us for sure."

Jordan gave one more faithful look to the Ocean before starting back to the cabin, still feeling Ariel's chin on his fingers from that many years ago.


	4. Chapter 4

The storm was getting worse and Jordan could do nothing but hold on. The giant waves were slamming against the boat and swinging him and the rest of the crew everywhere. He was reminded of his last night with Ariel by this, although they weren't thrown about like this, the storm was for sure much worse. He wouldn't have known that back then, but his short life as a pirate had taught him much.

Another giant wave crashed into the side of the hull, this time bringing a chunk of wood with it.

"Mend it boys fast!"

As the captain shouted Jordan ran and got a plank of wood with a hammer and some nails and secured it on the whole. This didn't stop the water from running through, it only slowed it. Soon another whole was created, and then another, and another, and it went on like that for a while. Soon there were too many wholes to deal with, and not enough planks and men to go around, so the captain did something desperate.

"All men on deck abandon ship!"

Jordan and everyone else didn't hesitate; they were up on the deck and making their way to the two lifeboats. Six men were lost on the short walk there, the furious waves taking them with them as they passed over the ship. Jordan the captain and a few others made it. Everyone started to load on to the small rowboat and Jordan began to lower them down. Once they were in the water Jordan let go of the ropes and jumped over the edge into the boat, however he had made a fatal error. He had miscalculated the waves, and instead of landing with his feet in the boat, he landed in the water, his head hitting the side of the boat. Now he was unconscious, his ragdoll body at the mercy of the waves that took him. Only a miracle could save him now, but there were such things.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the day after the big storm and Ariel was swimming on the surface. There were always many interesting things floating along the surface after a storm. She had found a wig, wet money, and a curious book so far. It was early in the day and it would be a while before she stopped to rest.

As she kept searching, out in the distance she spotted what looked like a mass of clothes floating on the surface of the water, but as she got closer she recognized it as a human body. She quickly swam up to the body and looked upon his face, which was covered by long dark hair, before reaching down to his chest and feeling his still beating heart. Ariel grabbed his hand and quickly began to swim to the closest island. Once there she did her best to waddle herself and the human inland to the closest group of shade trees, once this was accomplished she laid him down on the sand.

His hair was still covering his face, so Ariel took her hand and moved the left half away. Her heart stopped for a moment, but only a moment. She was scared, hopeful, and confused at the same time. Thoughts started to run through her head _can it be, will I be disappointed when I move the other side of hair from his face, does he still love me?_ Finally, after minutes of silence she took her hand, brushed it against the right side of this humans face. He had the perfect cheeks, the perfect lips, the perfect chin, and even though his eyes were closed, they were perfect to, for that is what Ariel remembered about him for all these years. Cold tears began to fall down her cheeks as she sobbed his name.

"Jordan.."

Ariel rubbed her hands across his face and looked at him as if he were a new toy for an insistent toddler. His hands felt so familiar, his hair, although coarse, so welcome, and when she felt her lips against her, she felt nothing and everything; everything and nothing. It was more than time, more than space… it was love. As she pulled away from his lips, Jordan's eyes slowly opened to behold the love of his life, and the reason of his life… he whispered only one word.

"…Ariel…"


End file.
